


1957

by filthyfawn



Category: Harry Styles - Fandom, Kiwi - Harry Styles (Song), Medicine - Harry Styles (Song), Sweet Creature - Harry Styles (Song), Woman - Harry Styles (Song)
Genre: 1950s, 50s, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Awkward Romance, F/M, Fluff, France (Country), Harry Styles - Freeform, Innocent, Innocent Harry, Italy, Love, Music, Retro, Romance, Summer, Summer Romance, Summer Vacation, Vacation, harry styles au, harrystyles, one direction - Freeform, soft romance, vintage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 14:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21254786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/filthyfawn/pseuds/filthyfawn
Summary: The summer of 1957, in a small cottage-y villa in southern France, a family of five welcomes a new guest to stay the months they reside there until the summer ends. Although Harry plans to spend the summer surrounded by his music, his new best friend, swimming in lakes and partying and unwinding- although he finds his mind elsewhere, falling onto someone else instead. A sweet, rare, tender and precocious girl who draws him and doesn't let go.





	1957

The second day of summer, 1957, and of course, it was sprinkling little showers outside, not hard enough to be considered pouring, but not light enough to suck it up and continue on doing outside activities. This meant that the Humphries family were busying themselves indoors with whatever needed to be done, whatever they could find to do. Their cottage-like villa sat just at the top of a hill, littered with greens and surrounded by other summer homes like theirs, some owned, some used for vacation, some empty, and some for rent. South France being most beautiful during summertime, it made quite the scene.

Rose Humphries- a proud, upkept, welcoming woman- stood just 5’6 with her beloved kitten heels, was humming a tune to match the sweet pitter-patter of the rain outdoors. She was keeping busy, however, already starting on the laundry, although they’d only been there a little over 24 hours. The matriarch of the family was often helping out, not because she had to, but because she hated sitting around doing nothing, feeling unproductive. Rose was no longer working, but previously she had been employed at a large department store at the makeup counter.

To go along with her was Henry Humphries. Although tall and brassy-voiced, he was a warm man with a passion for learning as well as teaching. A professor at a University back home in Milan, he taught English Literature to the youth and enjoyed it greatly. 

They had a housekeeper, a short Polish woman named Aurelia, although she was sat out on the porch with a glass of iced tea, as she loved the drizzly weather, because it meant she had less to do. She’d joined their family every summer from the time the two twins were toddlers, she was as much a part of the family than if she were blood related.

Thomas Humphries, a 5’8, friendly, lanky-ish boy at the ripe age of twenty, and although he was pale skinned he tanned easily, freckles littering his face and his shoulders. And lastly, his twin sister, Bernadette Humphries, who refused to be called anything other than Scout. They looked quite identical, the same strawberry hair, noses, freckles and eyes, although their personalities, and heights, differed.

Anyone who knew the Humphries twins would describe Thomas as approachable, honorable, witty and charming, all of which he was. A man interested in music and wanting to follow his father’s path of teaching, Tom excelled at anything he could quite get his hands on. He grew nearly every day, whether it be his height or his knowledge.

They could also describe his sister Scout as childlike, clever, sweet and a bit hot-headed. She stood hardly 5’2, a small framed girl and easily unforgettable. By the time she could comprehend and learn the words, she was waddling around as a child declaring she would be a ballerina, and a ballerina she became. In dance she was prim and proper, a lady like her mother, and at home and with friends she was nothing but a dreaming, hopeful child, and in romance she was a sweet and mesmerizing like nymph of a girl.

Every summer, the Humphries family welcomed one guest to stay with them for the three months they resided there. Every year Tom and Scout switched off on inviting their own friend, this year, it was Tom’s turn. This turned Scout a bit grumpy, along with the rain, knowing whoever he may bring would probably tease her and bug her just like Tom did himself, it was as if she’d have two older brothers in the house.

The year before Scout had brought a newer friend from her ballet class, a pretty and tall brunette girl named Elizabeth. Although it started out alright, Elizabeth found herself more interested in pursuing Tom instead of spending time with Scout. Not to be fooled, she was quite a nice girl, however Scout felt a bit scammed in that Tom may as well have brought a friend two years in a row. When Scout had talked to her mother about this, she was met with a simple “Rules are rules, dear.” before the discussion was over with.

That rainy afternoon Scout plopped herself onto the hallway loveseat, a boring book in hand about the Russian language, or something of the sort- given to her by her mother after a heap of complaining over the weather. She’d have rather been looking through a magazine from her room, or a romance novel, she really would have rather been outside to play tennis or go for a swim. She never enjoyed being indoors, she hated being stuck indoors, and she didn’t like crummy weather. It deemed her as pointless, there was nothing to do besides sit around. And read that damned book about the Russian language. It was a drag on her day, in her eyes.

Although by the time she’d drifted away to sleep and woken back up again, sprawled out on their white and black toile loveseat, the rain was over with and the sun was peeking through a series of fluffy clouds. Excitement overcame Scout, rushing up the white stair steps to the second floor, down the hallway to her room. Her room was detailed a lovely pink with romantic olive green rod iron furniture, pictures torn from magazines posted up in a collage on the wall by her wardrobe, dried up old flowers and black and white photographs framed along her walls. Her bedsheets were a white and pink floral with matching gingham, a large window placed on the wall far from the door, sheltered by lace white curtains, it overlooked the garden and path leading up to their dining table- the tennis court just behind it, and just ahead, straight across, lie the same replica window leading to the guest bedroom.

Without missing a beat, Scout shut her door and yanked her wardrobe doors open, digging out her best and favorite white tennis dress. The skirt was pleated, the hem of the shorts built in hardly showing out from under it. By the time she had it on and her hair parted into two braids, snatching her racket from where it was propped against her desk, she was hurrying back downstairs, careful to keep her steps quiet as to avoid being scolded about stomping. Their second floor was decorated with a soft white wallpaper patterned in green vines, covered in cluttered shelves and antiques and old window sills kept clean and adorned with curtains.

When she made it to the foyer, tennis racket in hand, through the large entry hall and into the kitchen looking for her mother, she began to call out her name before she heard a car door outside, sighing and slumping her shoulders, mumbling something about Toms friend arriving there at the villa. Of course she was a bit curious as to who it was, she’d never met the man Tom described, and she’d be on her best behavior, but something about it made her feel strange, not because she was sharing her own space with a stranger, that part didn’t bother her. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew absolutely nothing about him, except that he was into music.

Forgetting to leave her racket behind, she made her way back into the hallway leading up to their front doors. Scout kept her gaze ahead, trying to get a glimpse at him through the opened door as she walked. Tom was the first to head inside, grinning at his sister for a moment before patting her on the shoulder as he passed. They had an odd way of displaying affection, however she knew this was his way of saying “glad to see you,”. She’d nearly tripped over the two suitcases sat on the front steps, grateful she hadn’t caused a scene on herself, although it was likely to happen at some point or another. 

At first glance, it was hard to see his face, as the sun was casting its rays right into her vision, and her parents were greeting the man she was soon to meet. He was standing next to the car as he talked with her father about the trip there, apparently a joke had fallen from his mouth because then her father was laughing loudly and patting him on the shoulder. Scout stood behind a bit awkwardly once he thanked them both for letting him stay, her mother kindly telling him not to fret, that it was no deal whatsoever. His voice was low and his accent- posh, it seemed, a lovely voice, definitely made for singing. Before Scouts mind was able to wander any further about his lovely accent, her mother was saying her name, followed by instructions to be polite and say hello and to take his luggage inside. “Hm?- Oh, yes mother.” She agreed.

That was when he turned to face her, her parents moving aside to head back indoors, and she got a decent view of him, an immediate feeling of, well, shock overcoming her. This man in front of her, that she’d been feeling so iffy about inviting in, well, he was not just pretty. Pretty and handsome were fitting, although understatements. She realized she was staring a bit, eyebrows furrowed, but she wasn’t embarrassed, it wasn’t a rude stare, but a curious one.

“Hello, Scout, yes?” He grinned. She nodded before she spoke. “Thats me.” She said simply, before realizing he’d held his hand out to her. Blinking a few times, she switched her racket to her other hand before shaking his briefly. She knew her cheeks and the tips of her ears were growing a shade of red, almost the same as her hair, but she swallowed hard and paid it no mind. Although he was dressed quite casually, a thin white button up shirt and pink shorts, his top only half buttoned as well as half tucked in, he made it look much nicer than it would on any ol person. It was like when you see something in a fashion magazine and decide you’d like it, only to wear it and have it look silly on you, unlike how it looked on the model.

“Right, I’m Harry,” He introduced, her eyes catching his face again, a cheery smile on his features. “Toms said plenty about you, all good things.” He was much more polite, friendly-like than she expected, it was refreshing. “Oh, he better have, I know where he sleeps.” She joked, and he chuckled in response as they headed back up the front steps. She leaned down to pick up his suitcases, before he went to stop her. “Oh, no worries I’ll-” And they were joined by Tom, who took it upon himself to pick up both suitcases himself and lead the way inside to the stairs. Scout merely gave a playful eye roll in response. “You showoff!” She announced, the two boys chuckling at her as they headed up the stairs.

Whenever Harry was lead to his room, it was much more home-like than he’d anticipated. It had been painted a soft ivory color, and had yellow and green furniture, the bedsheets a plain white. Beside the wardrobe were bookshelves, which he was already planning on searching through whenever he had some free time. The curtains on the window were drawn closed, a plain loveseat sat just in front of it, it all looked so cozy- he felt more than comfortable already.

Tom had left Harry’s suitcases on his bed, giving him some space to unpack and make himself at home and such. Although Harry only opened his suitcase before he was wandering around the room to gaze about the decor and details. He decided it was a bit dark in there, making his way over to the window to draw back the curtains and take a look at the view from his room, not quite expecting to catch Tom and Scout running about to the tennis court, Tom struggling to catch up to his laughing and giggling sister. She had enough energy to fill the entire household.

Harry had a small chuckle at the scene ahead of him, they acted just alike in such opposite ways, their mannerisms nearly as identical as their features. He felt a bit strange, like he’d been caught off guard with meeting Scout, he may have played it off as calm, but he’d been taken aback by just how pretty she was, and how endearing. Of course he expected her to look just like Tom, but now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure he’d quite thought about what she’d be like at all. He was more than surprised and pleased with who he’d been met with, but whether or not she’d bother to get to know him like he wanted to her, Harry wasn’t sure.

He felt a bit silly, like he was back in school with a crush on the first nice girl to speak to him, it felt odd of him to be so infatuated with a human who’d said nothing but two or three sentences to him, but here he was, curious and eager to know more about Scout. If the summer was going to play out with her on his mind more and more, all the time, alongside being around him nearly 24/7, Harry was more than okay with that, in fact, he’d enjoy it if she was around him plenty this summer.

-

The morning had been quite humid, more than usual, as it’d rained once more during the night and into the very early hours of the morning. It let Harry sleep soundly, just like a snoozing newborn and he found it difficult to move once he was awake, he wanted to snuggle into the bedsheets and fall right back to his slumber. Harry rarely remembered his dreams, unless they were unusually bizarre or nightmares, although when he woke he was more than sure he’d dreamt of something warm, something sweet, it made his tummy feel tight with joy.

However, Scout hadn’t quite had the pleasure of sleeping so soundly, the rain was directed against her window, guided by the wind, it was quite noisy and she wasn’t able to fall asleep to it until late. Of course, it was probably the fact she’d been thinking deeply about the summer with such a human in their home keeping her wide eyed, but she was too embarrassed to admit it to herself. She’d been strung up creating little thoughts and scenes in her head, how she imagined they’d play out, but she felt a bit silly, as it probably wouldn’t happen. Although she couldn’t help but grin and flop onto her tummy when she pictured Harry taking her for swims, riding bikes with her, holding her hand tenderly and caressing her knuckles. She spent forever arguing with herself over if it’d be a possibility, convincing herself it wouldn’t, before she passed out asleep.

Scout was second to last to Tom to wake up, headed downstairs only haven brushed her teeth and washed her cold cream off, still groggy and tired. Her pajamas were a matching set, the top being a pink babydoll style and the shorts ending in a small ruffle against her thighs. She had the same set in nearly every color, aside from the few nightgowns she owned, they were very similar. Her hair was still up in pillow rollers, cheeks warm and pink from sleep. When she made it to the kitchen, she found Harry stood at the counter facing the window, his back to her. She was careful not to make noise as she snuck back behind the wall, peering around it just to take a look at him for a moment. She was thankful he hadn’t noticed her, so she could watch him for a minute without disturbing his silence. Scout assumed he was waiting for Tom to come downstairs, finally deciding it was odd of her to watch him, but.. she couldn’t help it. She wanted to let her eyes run over the way his broad shoulders looked from the angle she was at, through his shirt, just a few more times. Although before she could he was turning around casually and she had to move back behind the wall separating rooms before he saw her. She let out a breath of relief after a moment, before hearing him moving again and she had to sneak away, around the corner to the hallway quickly.

Although she hadn’t been too sneaky- Harry had caught a glimpse of her hurrying off around the corner from which she’d been standing before she could get away. He pretended he hadn’t noticed, not wanting to embarrass her, although it was quite entertaining to him, he found it cute.

After breakfast, Tom, Scout, Harry and their mother agreed to a game of tennis, boys VS girls. After 2 matches, Scout and her mother’s team ahead of the boys, Rose decided she was tired and wanted to go inside to begin preparing lunch. Scout sighed upon hearing this, now it was 2 VS 1. “Thats unfair.” She frowned to the two boys, and Harry held back an amused chuckle at the whining girl. Tom shrugged. “We’ll go easy on you.” He reassured her, only being half truthful through his grin. Scout shook her head, hands on her hips. “Dont.” She grumbled, before serving to begin another match.

In the end, the two boys won by a long shot, Harry really being the only one going easy on her- however he masked it well, in hopes she’d win and he could see her get excited, the same way she did after winning the board game they’d all sat down and played the night before. Scout groaned and slumped her shoulders as Tom announced the final score, crossing her arms over her chest. “I told you it was unfair!”

Tom shrugged, dropping his racket as he headed around the net over to Scouts side. She assumed he was coming over to reassure her they were just messing with her, that he’d let her win the next game, something nice of the sort. But as he wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulders, he sighed dramatically. “Oh Scout,” He began, she looked a bit hopeful. “You’re quite rusty- try practicing more!” He said fake encouragingly before turning to walk away. A shocked expression grew on Scouts face, mouth gaping open. Tom looked proud as he began to strut off of the tennis court, of course, teasing his sister was all in good fun, he’d never do anything mean to her to hurt her feelings, he knew when there was a time and place for jokes.

Before Tom could get too far, Scout gave Harry a quick mischievous look, to which he watched her in confusion. Without missing a beat, she scooped up the tennis ball, tossing it up into the air before swinging the racket at it- and it went flying straight into the back of Toms head. Before he could even turn around, Scout was already into laughing fits as she began to sprint in the opposite direction, shouting “Run!” as a joke to Harry as she passed, which he found funnier than her actually hitting him with the tennis ball. 

Whenever they’d settled down, and it was almost lunch time, Tom had taken it upon himself to go inside for a possible cat nap on the couch. Tom could hardly go two days without a nap during one of them, their family had absolutely no clue how he could sleep so much every night and day. Scout was quite the opposite in that she found it hard to sleep longer than seven hours each night, and couldn’t hardly ever calm down enough to take naps unless it was in the sun, even then it was rare she did. She decided she’d go to the largest apricot tree to pick some and have them cleaned off in time for them all to share at lunch, taking the stepping stool from her dads study that he usually used to reach his books on high shelves, although it wasn’t nearly tall enough to allow her to reach many branches.

So she took it upon herself to forget the stool, she’d just climb the tree, like they did when they were younger. She’d only picked a few when Harry came out from the house in swim trunks, a damaged book in hand and sunglasses propped up onto his face. Scout stared him down as he headed for their small pool, waiting for him to notice her sat up in the tree, making sure her hair wasn’t too messed and she wasn’t slouching. He paid no mind as he began to pass by, clearly not noticing her as he hummed a small tune under his breath. Scout spoke up before he got too far. “Hi.” She said loud enough for him to hear, and he flinched a bit in response, gaze darting up into the tree to find the source of the voice- of course, he’d notice it was hers. After taking a breath, her chuckling at him being startled, he eyed her up and down with an amused grin. “Having fun, pet?”

Scouts chest tightened at the unexpected nickname. She kept her composure, despite being caught off guard and, well, flustered now. She nodded, swinging her legs. “Mhm! Do you want one?” She asked, pointing to the apricot she was ready to pick before she’d toss it in her basket. He smiled up at her. She looked sweet surrounded by the fruits and greens, like she belonged there, Harry wanted to take a picture and frame it, it was such a sight to him. The sun was casting in rays through the leaves and onto her skin, and he wanted to kiss her face very much. “Of course I do.”

She hummed and picked the sweet fruit from the stem, handing it down to him, holding her breath when his fingers brushed hers, and his touch seemed to linger on her hand even after they let go. “Thank you, sweet.” He said genuinely, turning his face to look at the fruit in his hand now, as well as to hide the tint to his cheeks. “You’re welcome.” Scouts tone was soft. Harry turned to leave, before stopping. “Oh, and,” He began, to which Scout watched him with raised eyebrows. He reached up, his pointer finger brushing just under her knee, where a fresh scrape resided, she hadn’t even noticed it there. “Please clean this up when you go back inside, yeah?” He nodded, before retreating his hand back to his side. Scout eyed her knee, the scrape tender and a bright red, she frowned a bit. “Oh- uhm, I will.” She nodded, her voice quiet. She was clammed up now, his hand had brushed her skin twice in a matter of two minutes, that was a lot for a girl to take in.

Harry spent a half hour reading in a spot by their pool, dipping his legs in whenever he got hot, it was just enough to keep him cool. Every now and then he’d shift his gaze back to the apricot tree to check in on Scout, seeing she was having a grand time talking to herself, counting the fruits she picked. He’d find it hard to look away at times, finding everything she did entertaining, just watching Scout be Scout. He caught her digging her teeth into an apricot sneakily a few times, looking like a skittish little squirrel caught up in their afternoon treat. He didn’t blame her, the fruit she’d handed him earlier was delightful to his taste buds. Before he’d finished the next chapter of his book, he caught her skipping inside with her basket out of the corner of his eye.

As everyone but Scout was seated for lunch, the one empty spot being across from Harry, Rose looked around for a moment before asking Tom where his sister was. “Probably fussing about something.” He shrugged, voice low and a bit grumpy from just being woken up from his nap. Their mother gave him a stern look. “Be nice Thomas.” Before he smiled apologetically at his mother.

Another minute later, Scout came rushing out with her basket of beloved Apricots, she clutched it to her side as if it were the most precious thing she’d ever encountered. “I’m here!” She announced happily, setting the basket on the table. Her father eyed them for a moment before picking two from the basket and bringing them to the side of his plate. “Thank you dear, they look just right.” He complimented her, and her smile grew, she looked proud almost. “You’re welcome papa.” She said happily, propping her leg up to rest on her chair, her knee visible, and her mother looked it over for a moment. “Sit lady-like, please,” Her mother instructed politely. “How’d you end up with your knee like that?”

Scout sighed dramatically. “I’m not lady-like momma,” She joked, her father and Harry both letting out low chuckles at the comment. In their household, Rose usually tried to keep Scout proper, and although she was, with manners and ediquacy, when comfortable she just wanted to be Scout- climbing trees and sitting like she wanted to. Her mother wasn’t overly strict, it was just habit to correct her at that point, and her father never cared either, they both just loved Scout as she was. “I wanted to be a Chickadee, so I got up into the tree, but the branches just weren’t having it.” She shrugged casually.

“Well, maybe you can be a bird tomorrow.” Harry suggested. Tom looked over at his friend with a smile, everyone usually followed along with Scouts remarks, he was glad Harry was catching on. “He’s right, the branches will forgive you tomorrow. The rain has them grumpy.” Tom nodded, cutting into his food.

Scout nodded, looking up distantly as she thought. “Huh,” She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be a bird tomorrow.”


End file.
